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THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF ALL TIME - MICHAEL JACKSON

(A Personality Profile by: Kristea R. Castro)

The defining talent of the best entertainer is the ability to engage your audience to your performance. Supremely talented, always confident, surprisingly creative, incredibly have the adaptability to change and adapt easily with style and time. Michael Jackson is able to transform himself from a child star to the king of pop.

Jackson's career was rewarded with 13 Grammy Awards, the father of one daughter and two sons and a consummate performer who has won and acclaimed the hearts of millions of people in the world on and off stage more than four decades ago. Mention his name to a fellow singer fan and the reaction is invariably, "Oh he's a greatest entertainer!" though it may take a moment to name most of his songs. Why? Because his songs are numerous and his songs are very catchy that you can forget the name of it.

Born in Gary Indiana, United States, Jackson's early ambition was in dance. When his family realized that Michael has a potential to become a singer and dancer. After his father Joseph discovered that all of his sons are naturally born talented. He molded them into a musical group in the early 1960s that would later become known as the Jackson 5.

At first, the performers only consisted of Jackson's older brothers, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. But later on at just eight years old, Michael joined them when he emerged as the group's lead vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions.

When the Jackson 5 was still getting started, Joe would push the boys to practice for hours. Their father was very strict and intimidating. From a young age, Jackson and his siblings were allegedly physically and emotionally abused by their father through incessant rehearsals, He has a strict rules and if they disobeyed they are often get whipped and derogatory name called them. Jackson's abuse as a child had affected him throughout his later life.

Michael's group continued to have success. They released more number one singles like "ABC", "I'll Be There", and "The Love You Save." As the lead singer, Michael was becoming very famous. He couldn't go to school because he would be mobbed by fans, so he was taught by private tutors in between rehearsals and concerts. Michael was just a kid when all this happened. He didn't get to play with other kids his age and later felt like he missed a lot on having a childhood. He was an above average student and excelled in creative classes. His absence of a formal education affected him deeply, because of his starting career in music industry.

In recent years, Jackson's performances seems to have entered a new phase, transitioning from imitating the movements of a robot or what they called a robot dance to a backslide, a popping technique or moonwalk. Through. his videos and live performances, Jackson popularized street dances, attracted a cult of impersonators throughout the world. He is credited with helping to spread dance to a global audience and having an influence comparable to dance icons such as to Fred Astaire and Sammy Davis Jr.

"I'm never pleased with anything, I'm a perfectionist, it's part of who I am." he stated. He wanted to surprise the audience even more, he wanted to be the best, always rehearsing and practicing. He is precocious genius that sang with feelings and inspiration. Michael had a quality that people cannot understand.

But all of this success will always come at a certain price, Michael Jackson started to received multiple accusations every now and then. Even though he has incredible music, The rumors and trials surrounds him even after his death!possible sexual assault are widely known, as is the name of his infamous Neverland Ranch, Jackson had a turbulent and interesting life before the controversy of his later years.

In addition to surviving childhood trauma, Jackson struggled with countless medical issues including a severely broken nose causing him to have several nose surgery, vitiligo which caused skin bleaching controversy, In an interview with Oprah in 1993 he explained "I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my skin, it's something that I cannot help, OK?" It runs from there family and it affects him incredibly. Severe scalp burns from an ad mishap because of an accident, and drug addiction resulting from the painkillers that helped him get through his various injuries. The pain he had during those years is unimaginable, and some people don't understand what he is going through and because of his fame rumors was spreading quickly. Tragically, his reliance on pharmaceutical drugs ultimately cost him his life when his personal physician administered a fatal combination of sedatives as part of his nighttime pharmaceutical routine to enable him to sleep without nightmares.

Michael's dance moves were thrilling and kept the fans wanting more but sadly he was gone. He was an important figure because of how people viewed his music from when he began to the present. There is a saying "There will never be another Michael Jackson" and that is true. He broke down barriers, changed culture, changed music, united people and races through his music. "If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make that change." this one of the lyrics of his song "Man in the mirror". He was an idol, His fans would cry and scream of happiness when they saw him. We learned that he had a rough life starting out and then it moved on to be quite the thriller!

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WHO DO YOU CALL WHEN THE POLICE MURDERS?

(A Trend Story Composed by: Kristea R. Castro)

Police brutality has been happening for decades way before Duterte became the President.

"Are Filipinos just acting ignorant?"

"Why do these crimes happen?"

Because most of the people who hire the police force receive bribes as well as the President encourage it with speeches is alarming that’s why we don’t get those who genuinely want to serve and protect.

Just when we thought after the Tarlac shooting, it wouldn’t happen again or at least lessen the crime against police brutality as the public was triggered and raging over the incident. But now, Another policeman shot and killed a 52-year-old woman in a store in Quezon City on Monday evening, May 31, the killing was recorded on a mobile phone and shared on social media.

This statement was posted after the Tarlac shooting.

The irony of this post, as Ex-cop Hensie Zinampan, who appeared to be drunk and was seen in the video pulling Lilybeth Valdez's hair and shot her in the neck, killing her instantly. The incident happened in Fairview, Quezon City, at around 9 pm on Monday.

This screenshot was taken in the original video when the crime was committed.

The incident comes a month after Valdez's son, on May 1, figured in a fistfight with the cop. Since then, Zinampan started to threaten their family.

Zinampan was arrested and turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit of the Quezon City Police District on Tuesday, June 1.

During the arrest, Zinampan insisted that he wasn’t the one who shot the poor woman Elizabeth Valdez not knowing that the killing was captured.

This case shows that police accountability may only be possible if the crime is caught on camera but as stated by many citizens- cameras alone won’t stop police abuses, they bring a measure of transparency during police operations, particularly in drug raids where the PNP often claims, without evidence, that the victims fought back.

These incidents underscore the need for police to wear body cameras with appropriate protocols during operations. But wearing them has not been rolled out because the police claim they still need to develop clear protocols. To prevent video from being manipulated by the police, after thousands of killings and allegations of cover-ups. Philippine police have been accused of executing suspects then staging crime scenes and fabricating reports causing a rally against the PNP. Various groups have linked the killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs,” in which police and their associates have killed thousands of drug suspects in evident disregard for the law.

Police brutality is an issue that is greatly impacting the Police community. I have gone over several different situations of how police mistreat and abuse their power and they do not have any consequences. The police have the law on their side and they can just take someone life away and they will get award for murdering someone. Many of the Filipino citezen cannot trust the police because police officers target them even when they are not doing anything wrong. The police officers are getting away with murder and they are not losing their jobs! This is creating the police versus the community gap that is growing at a rapid rate that it may become unfixable.

The police officers need better training on what to do in a situation that involves a gun, knife, if a suspect is not obeying them. Police officers need to go through more psychological training to teach them not to be bias towards the Filipino people. They need to build a relationship with the community and not just try to tear it apart. Police officers should be held just as responsible as any other person in the country for committing a murder or shooting someone. They should not be above the law.

The community needs to have faith in the people who are supposed to be there to protect us. We need to start this healing process now before it is too late because if we wait any longer then it will be a never ending battle of the people vs the police. That is something that we do not want nor need to go through because it will result in more deaths. So let’s come together and hold police officers responsible for their actions and get some closure with civilians in the philippines.

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KINDNESS AT A TIME OF TRAGEDY AND HATE

(A Human Interest story Composed by: Kristea R. Castro)

The philippines have been under lock down for over a year now. With over a million covid cases, people are losing jobs and many were losing faith. When a tragedy like this strikes, it’s a difficult time to see the light again. When something so awful takes place, you might find yourself questioning the good in humanity. But that’s when you come across a news story that instantly lifts you up and stops you questioning the goodness in each and every one of us.

This is the story of community pantries, an initiative that every country needs to know about. That It all took was one kind soul to spark hope again. Her name is Ana Patricia Non a 26-year-old woman who first set up the first community pantry on April 14 at Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. A selfless woman who wanted to help those who were struggling in lock down. She set up one pantry which was posted on social media and within 24 hours, it went viral and has rightfully received the most publicity.

"But why did they decide to do this in times of struggle?"

"Afterall this is not a rich nation! Don't many people face life difficulties?" Well they do but it all started from one goal of this one person!

Ana Patricia Non owns and runs a small furniture refurbishing business that employed workers severely affected by the pandemic. Non always thought of the people left most vulnerable by the pandemic, those who don’t have the option to stay at home and stay safe and whose meals depend on the income they earn on the same day, if any at all.

But Non thought of others who had it worse. “My family told me that our only goal must be to survive and to stay healthy, and to recover if we are sick. I tried to do it but I can't erase from my mind how others could not afford to stay safe and stay home because their daily food depends on their livelihood” she said.

“After the lockdown, I decided to set up the community pantry to help ease the hunger of Filipinos going through difficult times.” Non shared.

Before she knew it more and more people were doing the same thing. "It gave us hope despite our situation, some people begins to cry and are saying thank you because it encourage us to help, too" she added. It is unbelievable how many people followed, what this one woman started!

This was the original community pantry and its fame has been increased because its founder has been the victim of red tagging. Anna stated that it was only for temporarily but what started as a small gesture for others who are also grappling with the pandemic created a ripple effect beyond what she had intended. It was a simple act of sharing on the street for the needy, caught attention immediately and inspired others to do the same.

Inside and outside Metro Manila have also popped up in the past days. Some residents in Quezon City, Marikina City, Manila and Rizal, and even as far as Laguna and Boracay have allotted a small space within their barangays to allow others to take or drop off basic items such as canned goods, rice and vegetables. There are now an estimated 350 community pantries all over the Philippines.

A group of kpop fans set up their own pantry! The family of farmers donated their harvest, fisherman willingly gave their catch, many vendors donated fruits and vegetables they were supposed to sell. In the world full of food waste and financial struggle, this is utterly inspiring. They have a bike community pantry to distribute food to many areas, they have a pantry for delivery drivers, they even have a paw-ntry for stray dogs and cats. Everyone came together and most importantly, no one abused the system.

And from one person - to one country and now this one country is becoming a whole world! Because they have already inspired one country to have their own community pantry! With so many fights and disagreements, I see too many people around us lose faith in humanity but it's not because humans are bad, it's because we focus too many attention on the bad things. But we need to believe that good and kind people still exist everywhere around the world. Kindness like this deserves to go viral. And may it be a reminder to all of us that small acts done by many people have the power to change lives, and restore our faith in genuine human kindness and this is what the spirit of community is all about.

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EXPLORING THE BEAUTY OF AKLAN

(A Travelogue Composed by: Kristea R. Castro)

Exploring the whole city is one of my dreams, and coincidentally it seems like it will be a long journey that will take a long time because I put this plan into the long run. Kalibo Aklan is my grandmother's hometown, I will still be with my family and I have never set foot there because the distance is greatly afar and also the cost is quite draining a bag if you want to travel with the whole family, but in 2015 when I set foot at my grandparents hometown I was really thrilled That I finally able to set foot into Kalibo Aklan.

At that time we were staying in a Ati-Atihan Festival Hostel not far from one of the most famous shopping centers called CityMall in Quimpo Street. We commute along with my two siblings, three cousins, uncle and auntie. After that, we walked the endless journey as I took photos from the road that we passed "Peace" that was the word I could best describe at that time even as I wrote this I felt my longing for a comfortable small town it came back in the heart, the trip might take about 15 minutes and you surround and I do not stop taking pictures with the camera that we rented before leaving, unfortunately, the pictures are gone and maybe my cousin still keens them but In fact we haven't see each other in a long time.

My first experience in Aklan made an impression in my heart,where I also rode a boat for the first time with my parents and cousins when it was already midnight, all those feelings were still very close in my memory that made me determined to return to Aklan to explore it more deeper and maybe try something new. In 2018, We returned to Aklan with my family, this time we were on a vacation tour. I was very excited when I returned there, because i'am able to see my grandparents again. My family decided that we go on a trip to bakhawan eco Park. Even though it is expensive that time it is worth it because of It's beautiful scenery, and I felt like staying there for a long time Just to relax. And also seeing the side of the nature that has its characteristics, seeing the number of trees that are very fascinating which makes bakhawan so difficult to forget.

When we had just finished our tour from bakhawan eco park, we arrived in my grandparents house at night but at that time I assured to myself that I could still explore this longing city especially when my Auntie's who had lived quite a long time in this city had just arrived.The next morning we didn't waste our time and take the chance to go to Villa de Oro Beach Resort where white sand beach is the aklan most famous for.

My auntie says that "It is most crowded when the sunset falls" So we went there very early. As we arrived at the resort, I remember how amazed i'am by the shimmering morning sunlight making the sand sparkle like a thousand tiny jewels. While the waves crashing against the shore making me calm. I also don't want to forget the friendliness of the residents there and this made me want to stay longer.

It is one of the most memorable one for me. When we arrived, at my grandparent's house I felt that feeling again after all this time and everything was still the same. Feelings of happiness that are enveloped in feelings of gratitude can set foot back here. We only have one day in Aklan, when we wanted to go to Aklan, our grandparents decided to give us time to shop at a very affordable place near at a public market where blocks away from my grandparents house.

I really enjoyed going to the market, when I decided to explore without anyone accompanying me.There was one thing that caught my eye which was a place right across the place where some of the motorcycles parked at the time, "Mayad-ayad nga pad-abot" was written initially in front of the door, I get curious by it and so the doubt enveloped my whole body and not to mention the thoughts that came "What if I lose my way?" but all of that seemed to disappear when I thought that I needed reading material to have a souvenir.

I was getting an information from the street signs if there was a bookstore behind the park therefore I ventured to cross the road for the first time in a city that was not yet familiar with myself while continuing to monitor the directions on my mind still convincing myself that everything will be fine, unfortunately, I still lose direction but there are security guards who help me because they see the gestures that I make as if I was confused.

Again I was amazed by the friendly attitude of the people here after getting the book I decided to take a walk to the market alone, I remember the situation, the road was not too crowded, the old monument located on the side of the road and the weather which was also a little support for a leisurely walk, I felt peace when I found I envy to be more brave and comfortable going alone in a city that is very new to me.

“May I help you?”

“Are you lost?”

Those words is what I often heard, that's how I described their friendliness towards me. Despite of the fact that I'm totally stranger for them, I was being conscious at first but I believe those people were sincerely helped me. Aklan is big a city with many experience for me, I eventually found out my other self there and also many lesson from the local inhabitants, I'll always consider Aklan as best city.